Thermometer



Junev14; 1949. c. L. wxLDER rr-AL 2,472,996

THERMOMETER Filed 001'.. 26, 1945 INVENTOR. aL. w/os/a H. f7. KL 0M@ HTTOR/VY Patented June 14, 1949 npieationoetbber 2s, isisgse'ril N0.`624,654

:siemens j'rnis' invention' relates tetherniprneters. y'In the patent' y1:6nuwamlsf No3 2,'27`2L240gjranted 'February 1o, 1942;and'alsoj'inf the patenttmnartman No. '2;321'0'37, g''rentefini'igustI 17,1943; there is"dis`close`d "a thermometer' provided "with La' onepiece"thermometcase "'Aiglass front closes' the case, being retained therein by a bezel whiclrmay beL in ade" i`n"orle piece,`""as"shvvn inL the' Edwards patent, "or Y'which "may benia'de iacording to a novel two-piece "construction 'as' disclosed" in the "Hartnian patent. :I'n'tlie "thermometers "shown in' both' 'f thesepatents, tlleglassi fronts thereof "are prevented from" rattling" by 'means' fof `ysprings *whichsnuglybias'* these frontsafgainst the'be'zels.

invention, a "novel spring mounting is 'i provided *which insures uniforin pressure'against the inner Isurface" of the' glass frnt "and yetfreduces the number 'of' parts required fontliis" purpose.

VIn the thermonetersdisclsedin the mentioned patents' thjejscale Aplate is lInside in jtwo parts mounted within; the ease, *withVA a; salepart *at each side of thetherlnorneteSte'm. "Theiinolinting` forl thescale 'plate parts"cc mprises supports "carried on the innersurface"of'tliebase, In the patented Constri'l'cti'ons"` thersp'po'rts `l '1ave`'spot welded thereto, certain-"zigzag springs Which'k'eep the glass fronts "from rattling. The two-part scale platehas been considered necessary in the past since the scale supportswith their projecting langesftvhieh Garry tl'iezigzag springs, have finterferred f with *insertio'niof a "one-pice 'scale plate between the thermometerfstem and the case.

In aceordan'ce 'with 'a "f present invention, therelisprovided a eter? having a one-piece casel arid having-a fone- -piece vscale plate that canf'befreadilyassembled in the fcase, even after the theiimOmeter'stem-has "fb'een inserted in the case. l vvThe invention willbestbe understoodb"y"-ref erence to the drawings in which Fig. 1 is a front view of one embodiment of the thermometer of the present invention with a portion of the protective bulb broken away; Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the thermometer case proper, the thermometer tube and the protective bulb having been omitted; and Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

The present thermometer comprises a onepiece case S preferably made of die-cast metal, although it will be understood that it be made of molded rubber or plastic materials, if desired. The case 6 is trough-shaped with side walls 'I rth'r feature of the yvided 'in' the ribs.

r`2 and endkwallsis'andtthe'back It being curved about itslloneitudi'nal axis. The yinnersurface of thefback ofthe" caseisprovided with'jtwo spaced transversely lextending "ribs -I2 lhaving arcuate front f surfaces. These ribs 'support-1a vone-piece scale plate I3iwhich-is arcuate in'cross section, to rest cin-the arcuate surfaces "of the inentiimed ribs. Suitable v4screws `Hl, preferably of the self-tapping typefpass i'flircnighV openings in thescale' plate Aand areA driven 'intofholes pro- Thelower end!! f the'ca'se is provided with an opening I5 (Fig.` 2) ythrough which the stem of the thermometer-v I6 'can pass with the bulb (not shown) 2rofthe'thermometer "115" `extending into thel vprotective-bulb preferably screw-threaded into the l1, which is lower end-*of r the case. They thermometer stem 'is'ret'ained in `plate.

close relation to the scaleplateby a suitable clasp I8,"so thatA the height'of'the indicating column of fthe liquid in the tliermometer r can easily be read `with"re`spect' to'- -the`graduations on' the scale I t has been mentioned thatlthe scaleplatey i3 iseurved in c'ross section. The curvature of the yscale-plate'andthe shape'of the'case are such that a long Side-edge of thescale plate can "be inserted under the thermometer stem and the I scale plate can bebrought into the position shown Vin-Fig. 3as`-a"resultof thecombined rotary and -sldingfmovementv ofthe plate with'respect to its 'longitudinal `-axis. -Thus they thermometertube 'eanbe assembled inthe case before the scale plate -is inserted'therein. VInorderv to leffect the inser- Jtion of 't'h'e `scale plate 1vinto the' case, the scale plate has been inserted'in the man'ner" described,

The' front of' thecse -is'f'preferably closed-'by fa transparent cover plate I 9 Y which is detachably and r'siliently'clarnped Withinthecase asy Will-be set forth. By referring to Figs. 2 and 3, it will be Inoted that the side walls 'I and the end walls 8 and 9 of the case are provided with a groove 2|, which preferably extends completely around the inner surface of the case. This groove receives the margin of the bezel serving to lock the glass or cover plate I9 in the case 6. The bezel is preferably made in the form of two complementary L-shaped sections 22, having intertting ends respectively provided with tongues and recesses which serve to lock the two pieces together when assembled in the groove, as more fully disclosed in the mentioned Hartman patent. A1-

ternatively, the bezel can be made in one piece as more fully shown in the mentioned patent to Edwards. The outside dimensions of the bezel are greater than the interior dimensions of the case so that the outer margin of the bezel when assembled in the open front of the case, will seat in the groove 2l, but the inner dimensions of the bezel are such that its margin will overlie the edge of the glass cover plate I9.

It is essential to retain the cover plate or glass front I9 in the case without possiblity of rattling and for this purpose an elongated zigzag or undulating spring 23 is provided at each side of the case. These springs are supported on shoulders 2d integral With and extending along the inner surface of the side walls of the case, with those portions of the zigzag springs which are directed toward the rear of the case, engaging recesses 25 molded in these shoulders. These recesses tend to prevent the springs from being displaced laterally from the respective shoulders.

Preferably the spring 23 is made by shaping a piece, cut of proper length from ribbon or strip material into the zigzag form illustrated. Each spring 23 is retained in fixed location on its related shoulder 24 by means of a self-tapping screw 26 which is forced into an opening in the shoulder. It will be noted that one side of the relatively large, flat, head of the screw engages the margin of an intermediate portion of the spring to retain the spring frictionally on its related shoulder.

We claim:

1. A thermometer comprising a case having a back and side and end walls, a shoulder formed integral with the inner surface of each side wall and facing the front of said case, a transparent cover plate for approximately closing the front of said case and receivable within said side and end walls, a bezel retaining the cover plate in said case, and an undulating spring supported on each shoulder and engaging the inner surface of the cover plate.

2. A thermometer comprising a case having a back and side and end walls, the inner surface of said side and end walls having groove portions therein, a shoulder integral with the inner surface of each side wall and facing the front of said case, a transparent cover plate for approximately closing the front of said case and receivable within said side and end Walls, and a bezel received in said groove portions, a part of said bezel overlying the margin of said cover plate to retain the same in said case, and an undulating spring formed from ribbon stock and secured on each shoulder, said springs engaging the inner surface of said cover plate.

3. A thermometer comprising a case having a back and side and end walls, the inner surface of said side and end walls having groove portions therein, a shoulder provided with recesses and integral With the inner surface of each side Wall to face the front of the case, a transparent cover plate for approximately closing the front of said case and receivable within said side and end walls, a bezel received in said groove portions, a portion of said bezel overlying the margin of said cover plate to retain the same in said case, and an undulating spring formed from ribbon stock and anchored on each shoulder with certain of said undulations resting in said recesses, said springs engaging the inner surface of said cover plate.

4. A thermometer comprising a case having a back and side and end walls, a shoulder formed on the inner surface of each side wall and facing the front of said case, spaced ribs within said case, each rib having an arcuate surface facing the front of the case and extending at right angles to the sides of the case, an arcuate scale anchored on said ribs, a thermometer tube having its stem supported in close relation to said scale plate, a transparent cover plate for approximately closing the front of said case and receivable within said side and end Walls, a bezel overlying the margin of said cover plate and engaging the case to retain the cover plate in said case, and an undulating spring secured on each shoulder, said springs engaging the inner surface of said cover plate.

5. A thermometer comprising a case having a back and side and end walls, a shoulder formed on the inner surface of each side wall and facing the front of said case, spaced ribs Within said case, each rib having an arcuate surface facing the front of the case and extending at right angles to the sides of the case, an arcuate scale plate of shorter radius than that of the arcuate surfaces of said ribs, means for forcing said scale to conform to the shape of the front surfaces of said ribs and for anchoring said scale plate to said ribs, a thermometer tube having its stem supported in close relation to said scale plate, a transparent cover plate for approximately closing the front of said case and receivable within said side and end walls, a bezel overlying the margin of said cover plate and engaging the case to retain the cover plate in said case, and an undulating spring secured on each shoulder, said springs engaging the inner surface of said cover plate.

CECIL L. WILDER. HARVEY A. KLUMB.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,984,819 Bandoly Dec. 18, 19.34 2,272,240 Edwards Feb, 10, 1942 2,297,792 Neuwirth Oct. 6, 1942 2,312,873 Bruns Mar. 2, 1943 2,327,037 Hartman Aug. 17, 1943 

